The Riggs Blog

The Riggs Blog

The Riggs Blog is a mix of news about clinical work, research and educational activities from the Austen Riggs Center, as well as a source for information beyond our walls that we find interesting and thought-provoking.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees of the Austen Riggs Center, Lisa A. Raskin, PhD is pleased to announce that Andrew J. Gerber, MD, PhD, will be the next medical director/CEO for the Austen Riggs Center. Dr. Gerber will begin his appointment on July 1, 2015.

All patients begin in an evaluation and treatment phase for the first six weeks of their treatment at a residential or hospital level of care. This time is used to better understand whatever brings them to the Austen Riggs Center.

It may be hard to imagine patients having a say in the way a hospital is run – not just an opinion about the care they received, but a real partnership with staff in engaging a range of clinical and administrative issues. Yet this is just what happens at Riggs, where the core of the clinical program is the recognition that patients come with significant strengths as well as difficulties, and that the exercise of these strengths is as important for the patient’s prognosis as it is for the community’s daily life.

The Erikson Institute for Education and Research of the Austen Riggs Center along with the Yale Child Study Center are jointly sponsoring an Infant & Family Mental Health Training Program. The first session will be held at the Austen Riggs Center Friday through Sunday, April 10-12, 2015, with the second session to follow, November 6-8, 2015.

The Yale-Riggs Infant Mental Health Training series is dedicated to the exploration of development, attachment, trauma and the interaction of these topics within the parent-child relationship and family system.